The costs associated with placing spacecraft (e.g., satellites) in orbit are astronomical. For example, in 2014, typical launch costs may be 10's of thousands of U.S. dollars per kilogram of mass, which includes the mass of the launch vehicle and fuel, as well as the mass of the spacecraft being placed in orbit by the launch vehicle. Spacecraft, once in orbit around the Earth or beyond an Earth orbit, are subject to collisions with space debris, both man-made and naturally occurring. Moreover, the payloads of spacecraft typically include electronic equipment, which may be vulnerable to electromagnetic interference (EMI). Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the mass of spacecraft, while at the same time ensuring adequate protection of spacecraft against space debris and ensuring adequate protection of electronic equipment from EMI.